The teen target may be difficult to hit, but at least it’s a large one.
At about 26 million strong, this is the largest group of youths age 12-17 in the United States since the baby boomers hit puberty in the ’60s and early ’70s, said Peter Francese, founder of American Demographics magazine and now demographic trends analyst for advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather.
Based on a decline predicted by slowed birth rates, Francese believes the current crop of teens represents a peak that should stand at least for the next decade.
“There were a lot of kids born 12 to 17 years ago, about 4 million a year,” Francese said, “and we’ve had a lot of immigration on top of that, so you’re looking at a real swell.”
Much has been made of this group’s evolving habits. But it’s also marked by a changing face.
This year, 60 percent of teens will be white, non-Hispanics, Francese said. That’s down dramatically from 1990, when 75 percent were white, non-Hispanics. In 16 years, Hispanics have gone from making up 12 percent of all teens to 18 percent. They’re on track to reach 20 percent within a decade.
“I hope you don’t talk about 25 million teens as if they’re all alike, because that is not the case,” Francese said. “We try to bring to our clients a deeper understanding of the complexity of these markets. You can’t go out with one message that will resonate with everybody — or even with all teens. They’re too diverse for that.
“More so than ever.”
